3 minute read
Personnel and Personal Pronouns
from HR Connection November 2021
by taspa
An overview of the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA)
Emma J. Darling, Associate
While the LGBTQ community and the existence of pronouns are nothing new to HR departments, there’s recently been a resurgence on the usage of gender pronouns in the news and our culture. Thanks to the high-profile cases of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia and Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., transgender issues in hiring and in schools have become front page news again. General awareness about gender inclusivity has increased, but one of the main technical aspects that many people, HR personnel especially, struggle with still is pronoun usage. So, what should HR departments know about pronouns, and why should they be sure to get them right?
EMERGING CASELAW
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 590 U.S. ___ (2020) was a case decided by the Supreme Court. Bostock, a gay man, was terminated from his job as a child welfare coordinator for being a member of a gay softball league. He filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC, and then sued his employer for discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). The Supreme Court held that it is a violation of Title VII for an employer to fire an individual employee merely for being gay or transgender. G.G. ex rel. Grimm v. Gloucester County Sch. Bd., 822 F.3d 709 (4th Cir. 2016), vacated and remanded, 137 S. Ct. 1239, 197 L. Ed. 2d 460 (2017) is a Fourth Circuit case. Gavin Grimm (G.G.) is a transgender former student who sued his school board for not allowing him to use the restroom of his gender identity, and for failing to change his transcripts to say “male” after graduation. The Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of Grimm, making the school board pay over a million dollars, after which eventually they settled. While this is a case in the Fourth Circuit, which means it is not binding in Texas, it may be instructive to future decisions in other circuits.
Under Title VII, employers cannot discriminate against employees based on their sex. The definition of ‘sex’ has been broadened to include sexuality and transgender status thanks to the Supreme Court ruling in Bostock. Discussion in these cases and guidance from the Office of Civil Rights have instructed that practices like repeatedly using the incorrect pronouns for an employee, after they have previously corrected you, can now be considered a violation of Title VII.
PRONOUNS TO KNOW
He His Himself Him His
They Their Themself Them Theirs “Inclusion begins with your department and will trickle into the everyday work environment of these employees”
Just like any emerging social issue, pronoun changes will become more familiar and easier with time. Your goal is to make sure that your school district isn’t the next one cited in a court case, or on the front-page news. When an employee makes known a pronoun preference, do your best to honor that preference. Mistakes will happen, but as long as you correct yourself and your employees, the perception of discrimination is less likely.
She Her Herself Her Hers
Many employees still identify with one of the traditional ‘he/she’ pronouns. However, there exists a third option for people who do not identify with either of the traditional pronouns: they. ‘They’ has been a gender-neutral pronoun that has been used to identify individual people since the thirteenth century. The grammar for these pronouns can be found below:
There is also a gender-neutral title to add beside Mr. and Mrs., which is Mx. While people have a litany of other possible pronoun choices,1 by far the most commonly used ones are he/she/they.
BEST PRACTICES
In many instances, an employee will correct their supervisor, or tell their colleagues their preferred pronouns. Once this happens, it becomes the job of the HR department to use this knowledge and correct any files, documents, or websites/name tags which used the incorrect pronouns. Inclusion begins with your department and will trickle into the everyday work environment of these employees.
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